The Best Part

There’s no way I could pick just one thing but I would have to say breastfeeding is one of them. Baby Dre loves to eat and he’s a champ at nursing, nothing hurts me. I haven’t had any issues other than over-supply which is more of a blessing than anything, I make enough milk for triplets lol. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that my body is keeping someone alive, it’s also a huge reason why we’re so inseparable. I also love seeing him smile when he first wakes up, it doesn’t matter how tired I may be, that smile at 2:30am gets me every time. Hearing him talk is like a Mozart piece, I love it! Baby-Wearing with my MOBY WRAP is a major key to get things done; he’s the Roo to my Kanga. We also do this new thing for nap time where I hum songs with my lips on his left cheek, and we fall asleep at the same time, it’s the best.

The Big Shocker

The quantity of diapers I go through in a day is out of pocket lol. Shoutout to Costco and my baby shower.

The Hardest Part

With Andre’s job, he has to be away for weeks at a time. When he is home, he does A LOT. The hardest part for me is getting un-use-to all the help I have when he has to leave us. The 1^st week when I’m by myself is a little rough because I can’t just roll over and ask him to do a night shift, I have all the shifts.

Your mind and body will adjust.

How many people told you how exhausted you would be with a newborn? Too freaking many I’m sure. But guess what, our bodies were made to do this, and that’s not a cliché. YES there have been nights that I couldn’t keep my eyes open and my angel of a mom had to take baby Dre at 3am. However, I had the mindset that being tired is not an option and I have to keep this little human fed, comfortable, happy, and loved. My mind and body have honestly adjusted to running on 2-3 hours of sleep at a time.

My Mom Bod

So at 3 months post partum, I obviously do not look or weigh the same. YES, I got stretch marks, literally the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy. Based on the angles of photos I can look bigger or smaller than I really am, my face is still chunky and my cheeks are huge, but oh well. I was falling into this trap of becoming really obsessed with my body and getting it back to normal and it was exhausting me, it was affecting my happiness and attitude. As a breastfeeding mom, I get so hungry but I also know eating junk will affect my milk and upset baby Dre’s tummy. So I eat well for him, but I don’t necessarily diet. If I want a bowl of ice cream, I’ll gladly enjoy it, I don’t restrict myself from foods that I enjoy and that make me happy. Every single day I wake up and look in the mirror I have to remind myself why I look the way I do. I grew and carried my whole world inside my body for 9 months, there will be plenty of time for me to exercise 5 days a week and diet when I’m done nursing. I also changed my wardrobe to help me feel more confident, I went on Pinterest and created a board dedicated to my new Mom-Style and found outfit ideas that fit my new body shape, shout-out Kourtney Kardashian for all the inspo.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

If you’re an athlete, I suggest having babies with another athlete, jk. I mean, Andre just gets it. He doesn’t complain about the late nights and early mornings because that’s been a norm for us all through college and highschool. He understands that working together gets things done the fastest and most effective. We don’t back out on our shifts. Every single night we figure out who is going to take the first shift. For example, I will change, feed, and possibly play with Baby Dre when he wakes up at 2am and then put him back to sleep. I leave a bottle of pumped milk, a burp cloth, diapers, and wipes on Andre’s side of the bed so when he wakes up again around 5am, Andre will do the next shift but he won’t have to wake me up for anything because he has all he needs. We basically do that back and forth all night starting at 10pm. If Andre has an early morning workout, I will take the baby all night so he can sleep and then when he gets home from his workout around 9am, he will take the baby for 2-3 hours so I can sleep. I just love our system; it works so well for us.

My Favorite Products

I’ll be doing an Instagram Post on this very soon! Keep looking out for it! IG: @RACHOLWEST  

All About Dre

Baby Dre loves to talk; he’s discovering his voice and making new sounds every day. He is the happiest baby with the most calm temperament. He only gets fussy if he is hungry or sleepy which makes my job too easy; he’s great at communicating. He has discovered his hands and feet, and is mastering his grasping reflex; this kid is STRONG. He can roll from his back to his left side and from either side onto his back. He’s trying so hard to sit up, he does ab workouts a few times a day with his dad. He’s very curious; he doesn’t like being held to where he can’t look around the room or see your face. When strangers approach him, his eyes lock directly on me or his dad and he makes it clear that the person is too close. He’s exclusively breastfed and eats ALOT; however I let him lick fruit if he watches me eat as more of a teaching thing. He’s been sick once, and it lasted 4-5 days; his immune system is strong AF, SHOUTOUT to the boob juice. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is his current favorite book. He loves tracking moving objects or people with his eyes, looking into mirrors, and putting his fingers and cloth materials in his mouth. A lot of people ask who he looks like. All I can say is Andre and I definitely went half on a baby; he looks like me or my dad sometimes but also looks like Andre’s twin. His hair is curly on the top but wavy/straight everywhere else and he’s lighter than Andre and I both so it’s obvious his Mexican genes are a little strong lol. 

Mom-Life in a Nutshell

A lot of people ask how mommyhood is treating me. The best explanation I like to give is that everyday I’m just wingin’ it. Exhibit A: one day I could not get this hoodie off of Baby Dre and he was freaking out so I just cut it off of him. Babies do not come with instruction manuals; I never know what each day is going to bring, but I do know that as long as I have a positive attitude and count my blessings, I won’t get overwhelmed.